Paul Curreri

Paul Curreri (born January 28, 1976), an American guitarist, pianist, songwriter, and music producer born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He performs mainly in the folk and blues music styles. He married songwriter-guitarist Devon Sproule in May 2005 and lived with her in Charlottesville, Virginia. They have appeared and toured together, performing duets – most famously for Valentine's Day. He now produces his wife's tracks, providing supporting instrumentation.

Curreri and Sproule moved to Berlin, Germany in September 2011, have since resided in Austin, Texas, and now live in Charlottesville.

Music career

Early years and education Michael Paul Curreri, Jr. was born January 28, 1976, in Seattle, Washington. When he was 13, his family moved to Richmond, Virginia, In 1995 he enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design to pursue painting. After a year in New York City, he moved with a girlfriend to Knoxville, Tennessee. There he "burned through a dozen jobs." Curreri then moved back to Richmond and on to Charlottesville, Virginia.

Charlottesville Attending the debut of the King of My Living Room songwriter series in Charlottesville in 2001, Curreri decided to make his home there. The original group of Charlottesville songwriters that launched this series of live shows included such artists as Brady Earnhart, Danny Schmidt, Stratton Salidis, Jan Smith, Lance Brenner, Browning Porter, and Jeff Romano. The concept resulted in a number of concerts, many of which Curreri would join in on – including the reunion/finale in November 2007 at the Gravity Lounge in Charlottesville.

Schmidt, Curreri, and songwriter/guitarist Devon Sproule became housemates – with Paul and Devon marrying in May 2005. In Charlottesville, the now-defunct Gravity Lounge became something of a home venue for both. Curreri gave the first official concert at that venue. Many times over the years he and Sproule performed together there, receiving particular acclaim for their Valentine's Day duets. for a Discovery Channel documentary on young farmers called Greenhorns, and his wife, Devon Sproule's third official album, Don't Hurry For Heaven. Additionally, he slowly assembled his sixth album, California, which was released 2009 in the UK, and 2010 in the US. He also arranged and performed an instrumental version of "We Three Kings" for Our Christmas Present (2008) to support Our Community Place programs in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

He could often be seen riding his vintage 1976 Honda CB750 motorcycle through the Virginia countryside, a bike which he said played an "enormous role" in his life during the injury; however, when he returned to playing music regularly in 2010, he sold the bike citing fears that it was only a matter of time before he crashed.

Curreri called the injury "a gift," saying, "I'm looking to expand my perspective. I'm looking to find what I didn't have time to find before. I'm looking to appreciate."

In 2009 Curreri traveled to Kenya to collaborate with benga musician Joseph Kamaru and Ochieng' Nelly. He also did a few tours in Europe as Sproule's guitar player. He returned to touring in 2010 and performed with his wife at the award ceremony for the ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award for songwriting she received in June 2010 (video).

Move to Berlin In September 2011 Curreri and Sproule moved to Berlin, Germany after years of traveling to Europe to perform. "There have been a fair numbers of years where our careers have just primarily existed overseas," says Curreri. "The territories are so much smaller," he says, "and the access to national media is much easier. Because the territories are smaller, it's easier word-of-mouth-wise." Sam Wilson performed on guitar, Jonathan Mills on bass, and Todd Wellons on drums, with Nathan Moore opening.

Reception Curreri performs mainly in the folk and blues music styles. Known best for his solo acoustic performances, he also contributes electric guitar stylings to his wife's band, and has fielded his own band at times. He often plays all accompanying instruments himself on his recordings. Since the release in 2002 of his debut CD, Long Gones to Hawkmoth, as the Washington Post states: "he's been collecting critical praise ever since for his bluesy Americana tunes and wild-eyed tales."

He and his wife perform live duets regularly, especially for Valentine's Day. Curreri's father is a Naval Academy graduate and attorney. His brother Matt Curreri a musician. Paul sobered up in 2013. He's been "sidelined" as a performing musician since about 2015 with "hand and vocal problems." Curreri has been seen by "numerous" otolaryngologists without a successful diagnosis of the "root cause" of his voice issue.

Discography From Long Gones to Hawkmoth (2002) City Salvage Songs for Devon Sproule (2003) Tin Angel The Spirit of the Staircase (2004) City Salvage Are You Going to Paul Curreri (2006) City Salvage The Velvet Rut (2007) Tin Angel/City Salvage Valentine's Duets with Devon Sproule (2007) California (2009) Tin Angel/Hi-Ya The Big Shitty (2012) Tin Angel

Compilations King of My Living Room (2003) Our Christmas Present (2008)